Choices
by Jessahme Wren
Summary: Jack, Tony, Nina, S1. Jack and Tony run for their lives and Nina must make a choice: Save one or betray them both? Updated with Chapter 4 and Epilogue.
1. Chapter 1

A product of the Tag Challenge at 24nmore dot com. Jack, Nina, Tony, Action, Drama. Hope you enjoy :)

-0-0-0-

Nina leaned into the torrent, letting the water massage her shoulders and run in rivulets down the length of her back. The cool tile under her palms felt real, tangible, contrasting with the water's pounding heat. For the first time in weeks she felt anchored. She closed her eyes.

Even before a shadow engulfed the thin shower curtain Nina could sense that she wasn't alone. The absence of light against her skin piqued her attention, and even though she knew who was on the other side, she tensed. Years of living double lives had made her acutely aware of her surroundings. And constantly reminded her not to get too comfortable.

Tony's head appeared around the curtain, his dark eyes glinting faintly through the steam. She smiled at him, and he stepped inside.

But she would've rather been alone. Alone was the only time she could truly be herself. When she was alone, there were no pretenses. The layers of her lives could fall away, properly exposed so she could breathe. But she was no longer alone.

She did not mind Tony. This life demanded that she didn't mind him. She often wondered, though, why she'd involved herself with him. Her relationship with Jack was strategic-necessary, but enjoyable. But what was this?

His lips claimed hers, firm and capable, and she returned the kiss. It was not that he wasn't nice, or that the sex wasn't good. It was as good as she wanted it to be. His being nice was irrelevant; she had enjoyed the not-so-nice. The simple fact of it was that Nina Myers did not like people.

He turned her around, and the water untangled her hair and poured down her breasts in a warm deluge. Tony's hands were on her shoulders, gently kneading, and they were as warm as the water. "You work too hard," he said into her ear, and placed a kiss there.

She wished he would go away. She turned into him, releasing the towel at his waist, revealing his taut and perfect skin, the strong length of him. She took him into her hands.

She wished above all else that she could go away.

-0-0-0-

Three Months Later

-0-0-0-

The sky was on fire.

It was a ridiculous observation, one reserved for the very bored or the very philosophical (not infrequently the same), but Tony made it anyway. The sky was yellow-orange in intermittent flashes, vaporous and dense, transforming with the latest flash or boom or crisp concussive volley. He found it strangely beautiful (another ill-timed opinion, but Tony allowed that one, too). "_When under duress," _Tony remembered from his training manual, "_random thoughts tend to make themselves known."_

And he was definitely under duress.

Tony lifted his head the few inches his cover would allow, trying to get a line on Jack. He could see him at the crest of his vision, a splash of blond hair, spiked with sweat, fluorescing mutely in the smoky gloom. His eyes were steeled, focused on an unseen target. The muscle in Jack's forearm twitched rhythmically as he squeezed off 9mm rounds from the feeble cover of some rusted farm equipment. Tony could hear the ancient metal absorbing bullet after bullet, the metallic ting punctuating the dark. Tony watched as Jack dumped an empty clip and fumbled for an extra one. Jack jammed it into place, casting a furtive glance across the field at Tony. _There's too many of them_, he seemed to say, _and I can't cover them all._

Tony shifted, cursing under his breath as the slight movement drew fire in his direction. The bleeding wound below his right knee had slowed a little, but it still trickled bright red, soaking the tourniquet he'd applied and blooming into the dark fabric of his pants. He chanced the smallest movement, gasping at the searing pain as the lodged bullet ground against bone and sinew. Tony gritted his teeth, looking up at Jack. _Down but not out, _he thought darkly. He fished for a clip and pressed it into the butt of his gun. It was his last one.

-0-0-0-

Nina stared at the blips on the screen, adjusting the angle of the screen a little to give her tired eyes something different to look at. She frowned in consternation, adjusting the drone a little more so she could get a clearer image of the general area.

She depressed a button on the side of her slender headset. "Do we have a last known location?"

"Yeah, but it's three hours old." Mason's clear voice filled the empty space. "Jack and Tony had already gone dark the last time they made contact." A beat. "Keep trying to establish contact and we'll close the perimeter on our surveillance."

Nina stripped off the headset, placing it beside her computer keyboard. She queued the last surveillance image, inwardly contemplating the usefulness of Mason if this operation would be successful.

She looked at her screen, the blinking light at the corner of her desktop indicating an instant message. She opened the small chat box.

NinaMyers: It's a risk for you to contact me this way.

SysCheck: This conversation never existed. The logs will reflect that. Where are the two agents now?

NinaMyers: I was about to call you. I can't get eyes on Tony or Jack.

SysCheck: Are you going to need our help?

NinaMyers: Yes.

SysCheck: Access the external satellite. You must be aware of their location if this is to work. Link me in when you have found them. I want to see everything. Do you understand?

NinaMyers: Yes.

NinaMyers: It's going to be hard to link you in securely without drawing attention.

SysCheck: Just do your job. I want a visual. You need to make that happen.

Nina closed the chat window, simultaneously erasing any evidence of her conversation. Discreetly, she keyed the backdoor access that would allow her to breach CTU's firewall. With a few configurations, the satellite would give her a better chance of finding Jack and Tony. From there, it didn't matter. She would've done her job. Nina had learned a long time ago not to have an opinion in such matters.

-0-0-0-

"Get down!"

Jack's plaintive voice broke through the gunfire, loud and insistent. Gunmen flanked them on the right and left and were closing steadily. They were organized if not experienced, and heavily armed. What they lacked in numbers they more than made up for in firepower.

Tony got off a few shots before finally following Jack's instruction, taking down one shooter and then another until a bullet sizzling past his head forced him into cover. Jack whipped his head around, visibly pissed at having his orders so flagrantly flouted. Tony couldn't suppress a smile.

So far Tony had successfully hidden his injury from Jack. They were parallel but slightly askew from each other, with twenty or so yards between them. If Jack had known Tony was hit, he would've never let them make such a dedicated stand.

"Tony, can you hear me?"

Tony's comm crackled to life. They hadn't used it, knowing their channel might be compromised. For Jack to access it now wasn't a good sign.

Tony could hear Jack's steady breath, the surreal sound of gunfire in his ear as well as all around him. "There was a bird on the nest a few clicks back. Did you see her?" Jack's voice was clear and strong.

"Yeah, I saw her." Tony remembered the "bird," a tool shed settled in a stretch of tall grass adjacent to the field they were in. Jack wanted them to retreat.

"Well, I saw her first," Jack said.

Tony nodded. He was more than a little skeptical of Jack wanting to break cover before he did, but this was hardly a time to argue. Besides, Tony understood Jack well enough to know what he was up to. The first one out would draw fire, giving the second one a better chance of making it.

"Ok," Tony breathed. He knew what he had to do. He checked the clip and hoped it would be enough to lay cover for Jack.

The comm went silent. Tony slid up a little behind his own cover, propping up on one elbow enough to see Jack and what direction he would head. He signaled to him, indicating three shooters at two o'clock, one at eight. There were probably more. Jack would head right, through the tall grass and into the surrounding woods. Drawing his hold-out pistol, he nodded quickly at Tony. His Glock was out and at the ready, the hold-out pistol down by his side.

Tony began. Plaintively at first, using more bullets than he intended, then more conservatively. The ploy worked. Jack made it halfway to the thicket before drawing fire, the bullets splashing around him like deadly rain drops. Suddenly Jack whirled, firing the two weapons in tandem, a wicked snarl on his face. He hit two shooters, both in the chest. Tony had taken out a third, and they littered the ground in dark heaps. Tony had no idea how many more of them there were that he couldn't see.

Then they fell back, retreating into the dark, chattering on walkie talkies. Somewhere in the distance Tony heard an engine lurch. One of the shooters turned, almost as an afterthought, and fired twice in Tony's general direction. The wild shot nearly hit him.

He closed his eyes and exhaled a breath he wasn't aware of holding. They would regroup, he thought, cut them off. Keep him and Jack separated if they could. And then they would kill them.

Tony watched Jack disappear into the tall grass, leaving him alone.

-0-0-0-


	2. Chapter 2

Jack made it to the shed first. It'd taken him longer than expected, having to stop several times as a patrol swept through, but he could see it clearly now, suffused with moonlight, its rickety frame jutting from the ground like a crooked tree. It leaned rather than stood, propped on the outer edge of a wooded glen. The trees were wintered, though, and not much for cover. Jack had to admit he didn't exactly have a plan.

Jack approached the structure cautiously, his weapon drawn. Carefully, he stepped over a fallen log, swinging his flashlight in a wide arc to illuminate the surrounding woods. A pervasive fog hugged the ground making it difficult to see. He tangled his way through the vines and brush, edging along the perimeter until he discovered a window. Jack wiped the grime from a thick pane of glass and peered inside. Even with the flashlight, it was so murky he could scarcely make out basic shapes. He was satisfied, however, that the shed had been in ruin for a long time.

He kicked in the aged wooden door, its rusted latch giving easily and stirring the dust and cobwebs within. Jack surveyed the small shed quickly, taking note of the shelves on the back wall, the numerous farming implement. He settled behind a wooden keg, keeping a clear eye on the window just above him. It was the best strategic position to watch and wait. He could only hope that Tony wasn't too far behind him.

-0-0-0-

Nina pulled the keyboard down, swiping her ID on a nearby access panel. The CTU seal appeared on the monitor, washing her face in harsh blue light.

The remote satellite was easy enough to access, though it was a risk, especially in here. It was dark, however, and she was alone. She entered the coordinates for the satellite and activated the infrared imaging.

After a few moments an image materialized, glowing eerily in a sea of black. One person, and they were running.

She zoomed in, her gaze intent, the digital instruments at the edge of her screen calibrating frenziedly. Although the thermal imaging blurred the specific outline of the figure, Nina could see that they were injured; their lumbering gait clearly favored the left side. And they were not alone.

Nina widened the field, revealing other ill-defined heat signatures moving in the same direction. Chasing him. Her eyes flitted between them…predator and prey. She watched impassively as the latter stumbled, crashing to the ground before clambering quickly to their feet once more. It was a quick recovery and not without difficulty given the pronounced limp, but from the practiced way in which he moved, the speed and control apparent despite an obvious injury, there was no doubt in Nina's mind that it was one of the two of them. Jack or Tony. Down there, running for their lives.

She looked at the screen, watching him. She wasn't supposed to care, that wasn't what was asked of her. So it surprised her a little that she did.

Nina withdrew her cell phone and made the call.

-0-0-0-

They were coming. Whatever lead Tony had gained by cutting across the creek was now exhausted. So was he. His breath came in short blasts, his stinging lungs straining against the night air and his own overexertion.

His leg was bad, worse than he would admit to himself, and he was soaked to the waist. The trek through the freezing water had sapped his strength.

In any other situation, walking would've been difficult and running in possible, yet run he did, each contact with the ground setting fire to his nerve endings and nearly stealing his breath. The overgrown field, with its long-forgotten rows now treacherous and covered with grass, proved more of a minefield than some actual ones he'd traversed. It was ridged, with deeply plowed furrows, and Tony's leg seemed to catch every one.

Finally, the land pitched steeply downward and the ground became smoother, but the change in trajectory made his leg scream. Sweat stood in large welts on Tony's forehead, and he was chill. The shed was but a mile away, he knew, but his pursuers were even closer. Absently he wished he'd told Jack he was injured.

Just then, at the crest of a hill behind him and not far enough away, Tony heard the baying of dogs. They'd caught his scent, no doubt, the fresh blood. Their fervent cries rang in the dark. Tony looked around quickly. There was no cover, and with nothing between them but open space, the dogs would be on him soon. He didn't have enough bullets for all of them.

Turning sharply, Tony bounded over a shallow ditch and straight into a thicket. Sharp thorns nipped at his clothes, digging into his flesh in places as he tore away from them. He retrieved a hunting knife from the holster on his leg and began hacking at the dried vines.

He was making progress, but not fast enough. Tony could now hear, above the pursuing dogs, the low whine of an engine.

"Stay where you are."

Jack's voice in his ear was so unexpected it stopped him cold.

"Jack, how—"

"Just stay down," Jack replied evenly. Tony looked around. It took a moment, but he finally saw him through the brush. Had it not been for his training, he wouldn't have. Jack's clothing blended perfectly into the night vista, and his face was smudged with black. Even his hair was dusted darker than the usual blond, taming its luster.

Tony could just make out the shape of him pressed against a tree, a high-powered rifle in hand, aiming at the crest of the hill behind him.

This time Tony did as he was told. He lay flat in the tall grass, listening. He heard the dogs first. They stormed the little knoll, their bristled silhouettes backlit by headlights. Jack dropped one, two, three of them; Tony could here the sharp report of the rifle crack over his head.

And then, a jeep. It bounded over the hill with a mechanical scream, its headlights jittering wildly in the night sky. It was going too fast, though, and rumbled over several of the dogs as it descended the hill, nearly wrecking. The passenger had barely enough time to get off a quick spray of bullets before Jack dropped him, too. His body pitched sideways and tumbled out of the jeep.

Startled, the driver cut the wheel erratically. He fought for control, but momentum and the pull of gravity was too insistent. The jeep flipped, tumbling heavily to rest at the bottom of the hill in a sighing hiss of idling engines and spent exhaust.

Jack sprinted to the site. The underbelly of the jeep was exposed, the tires on the jeep spinning uselessly. He looked into the cab to where the driver hung suspended by his seatbelt. Cautiously, he pulled his head back. The battered face was drenched in blood.

"Jack."

Tony had made it to the edge of the crash site and stood a few yards behind Jack. While his voice was strong, he appeared wobbly and his ashen face shone with a thick sheen of sweat. Jack was stricken. "Tony?" He went to him quickly, inspecting his injuries with urgent, able fingers. "It's not that bad," Tony offered lamely, trying in vain to put more weight on the affected leg as if to prove his point.

"The hell it isn't," Jack said seriously. He took Tony roughly under the arms, wrapping the left one around his shoulder. "We have to move fast," Jack said roughly. "We don't have a lot of time."

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	3. Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

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"How did you find me?" Tony was lying on the floor of the shed, a few bundled rags beneath him.

"Nina," Jack said as he tore open the leg of his pants. "She finally got a sat image. Saw you in the field." Jack peered intently at the bullet wound. The flesh around it was puckered and angry. He probed the entrance wound gently and Tony hissed.

"I didn't know we had satellites in this area," Tony said distractedly. He felt lightheaded.

"Yeah, well you know Nina." Jack wasn't concerned with anything but Tony at the moment. "CTU's sending backup, but it will be awhile." He frowned down at the wound.

"There's some debris," he began, but Tony interrupted him, nodding minutely. "From the creek," Tony finished. Jack looked at him for a long moment and narrowed his eyes. Tony's lids were half-closed and he was sweating. "It's ok Jack. Just do what you have to do," he breathed.

-0-0-0-

Mason leaned over the display. "How far out are they?"

Nina consulted the readout uselessly. She knew exactly where they were. "Thirteen miles," she offered mildly. Mason nodded. "Have tac teams do a sweep of the entire area. We need to extract Jack and Tony without resistance if at all possible."

As he walked away, Nina turned back to her computer. The little messaging signal at the corner of her screen blinked insistently. She looked around casually, grabbed her purse and walked into the corridor. She didn't stop until she'd made it to the ladies room. She ducked into one of the stalls and dialed.

"I told you not to contact me like that," she said icily. There was a pause.

"And I told you to do your job. Where is my visual?"

Nina never missed a beat. "Surveillance malfunction. We're flying blind here too." Secretly, Nina smiled. She was an excellent liar.

The person on the other end did not respond immediately. "You're lying," he said finally.

"I have no reason to lie," Nina countered. "And I have no reason to betray you."

"That doesn't mean that you won't." The person on the other end paused, considering. "Has CTU made contact with either one of the agents?"

"No."

Nina could hear the person on the other end exhale. "You know what will happen if you do not deliver." It wasn't a question.

Nina narrowed her eyes. "The next time you hear from me be ready to move in."

She hung up the phone, weighing her options. It was too early in the Drazens' operation for her to be expendable (although she was fully aware that there would come a time when this would not be the case). Nina was all too aware that she might not get another chance like this…to make restitution for future sins and hope it would be remembered.

-0-0-0-

Jack sat next to the window, the rifle in his hand. He was more than surprised when he'd found the two guns tucked behind a stack of crates. The rifle, a shotgun and a small clutch of ammo had been stored near the back, no doubt tucked away for a sportsman of years passed, having spent long hours gazing over the open field waiting for his quarry to cross his path. Jack probably sat in the exact position as that person years ago, looking over the same field, only his was a more lethal game.

The sporadic sound of far off gunfire no longer caused him alarm…he'd been hearing it for the last hour. There was no reason to speculate, only that perhaps the hostiles had engaged another unit. After all, Jack ruminated, if it had not been for their allies, the mission would've failed completely.

Beside him on the floor, Tony began to stir. Jack watched him with some regret. He hadn't been able to extract the bullet, it was lodged too deep, but Jack had cleaned out the wound as best he could. Thankfully, Tony was unconscious for most of it.

"Did you get it?" Tony's voice was stronger than it had been, and he strained his neck to look up at Jack near the window.

Jack shook his head. "Couldn't," he said. "It's too deep."

Tony put his head back in resignation. "Shit."

Jack propped the gun against the frame of the window and sat down next to him. "Here," he said, handing Tony a canteen. Tony propped up on one elbow and drank from it eagerly.

"We've got to get that out soon, though, before infection sets in." Jack looked at the dark wound with enough gravity to make Tony worry. He felt his hot skin. "You're already burning up," he said tersely.

"I'm fine," Tony said roughly and handed off the canteen.

Jack looked him curiously then, favoring him with the half-formed smile that was standard for him. He chuffed. "Yeah." Tony could see his eyes glitter in the moonlight.

"Nina told us to say put," Jack said. "CTU is going to sweep the area and extract us."

Tony frowned. "Feels overexposed to me. We need to get out of here."

He moved to sit and Jack pushed him down. "You're not going anywhere. And I'm not leaving you. So we're stuck." Jack quirked his mouth reflexively. "It could be worse."

Tony smirked at that, allowing a half dozen or so "worse" scenarios that he and Jack had faced in their history run through his mind as he lay there. The pain in his leg was a steady ache, and if he didn't move it, it was tolerable. He closed his eyes. Sleep pulled at him with insistent fingers even though he fought to stay awake. Jack needed him, he knew. He could cover the other window now that they had the shotgun. Tony tried to say something, but the words wouldn't form. The concrete floor with its bundle of rags was as inviting to him as a four poster bed at the moment. His vision blurred with the haze of sleep. His lids slipped closed, shrouding him in darkness.

-0-0-0-

"Have your men in position, they'll go on my mark."

Nina pinched the bridge of her nose, pacing quietly as the men readied themselves on the other end of the comm. It was a nervous action, yet she felt no trepidation. She'd never been more sure of her actions, yet she still thrilled at the coiled tension over comm. She could almost hear the men's quiet instruction, the nervous energy, and she fed on it. _Not long now_, she thought mildly. She rubbed her upper arms absently, relishing the goose flesh there. Nina had always savored the moments just before a strike.

But now she was running two of them.

It had not been that hard to fool the Drazens. They might be better organized and better funded than some other operations she'd been a part of, they still didn't know _her_, which was always to Nina's advantage. Nina found that, no matter who she was dealing with, she was consistently and reliably underestimated. This little "slip" on her part would be forgiven, of course, and would be blamed on faulty imaging and bad timing, perhaps the rudimentary workings of CTU as a whole. She was still too useful to them to incite enough wrath to make her leave. In her mind, the Drazens were jumping the gun to move now, anyway. She believed she'd actually done them a favor by not complying with their poorly laid plans. She smiled to herself. They wouldn't thank her later, but they should.

Nina accessed another screen, checking the infrared image again. They were together now, Tony and Jack, their heat signatures nearly indistinguishable. She studied it closely, wondering vaguely which one of them was hurt. CTU had not dispatched Medical…just the usual field agents with special training, standard for extractions like this. She couldn't have told them they needed more, because then they would _know_. She could only hope it would be enough.

Nina pressed her lips together and touched the small void between the two glowing silhouettes. Nina was glad they were together. They were partners, after all.

-0-0-0-

Los Angeles

Two months prior

-0-0-0-

"Is anything wrong?"

Tony brushed one of her short locks away from her forehead, caressing her face meaningfully before he withdrew his hand. Light streamed in through the sheer drapes, escaping through the gaps to slant coolly across their exposed bodies. They lay on top of the coverlet, facing each other.

"Nothing. Don't be silly." She said that a lot, "_don't be silly_." It was a stupid thing to say. She kissed Tony on the lips, taking her time with his talented mouth.

But he halted her. He withdrew and looked at her face, deeply into her eyes. His thumb was making little circles at her waist, and his hands were hot. "You never tell me what you're really thinking." He smiled. "We're partners, remember?"

She wasn't expecting that. Most conversations she could thwart with sex or an argument. But Tony Almeida liked to talk. A lot. She smiled lasciviously. "I'll show you what I'm thinking." She kissed him again, running her hand along his strong neck and pressing into him.

"No, Nina."

She looked at him, feigning insult, and quickly pondered a way out. Pillow talk made her venerable. Abandoning herself to the release of sex, something she'd always enjoyed, made it difficult to keep the rest of her lives in balance. So she preferred not to try. Talking, however, and _sharing _(she cringed) postcoital made that nearly impossible.

_Plan B, then_. Her eyes flashed suddenly, and she recoiled. "Fuck you," she muttered. She slid off the edge of the bed, grabbing her white button-down on the way. Maddeningly, he remained unrattled.

"Are you happy?"

She whirled, her eyes livid. "What the hell is this, Tony, therapy?" She was concentrated on the buttons and on not answering his questions.

He was zipping up his pants, looking at her. Tony's gaze could appear both open and unreadable at times.

"Stop looking at me like that."

He didn't. He was waiting.

He looked like a golden god, standing their in the sunlight that raked across his bare chest, and she wrapped her mind around the memory of his body pressed into hers, his dark skin smooth and beautiful, knowing she would never feel him again. Her body seemed to protest this, and an almost mournful ache shivered through her. She was saying goodbye.

But her sorrow was merely physical. Nina knew that it was time to move on, accepted it. She sighed and looked at him. "No, Tony. I'm not happy."

It was the fist time she'd told him the truth.

-0-0-0-


	4. Chapter 4

"Choices" was part of the Tag Challenge at 24nmore dot com. Join us for the 24nmore Advent Calendar…24 words, 24 days. One sentence ficlet using each word everyday every day. Check it out!

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Chapter 4

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"Jack."

Tony's voice had grown weak, shockingly weak. Jack tried to push the worry from his face, but was unsuccessful.

"I'm sorry, Jack." Tony was burning up now and he was pale. He spoke slowly as if every word was a labor. Jack cradled his head in his lap. Tony's hair was damp with sweat.

"Don't talk," he said. "Don't try to talk. You're gonna be fine."

"No." Tony shook his head weakly. "I'm sorry about Nina. You were right about her Jack. I should've never done it. I should've never done that to you."

Jack frowned at his words. Tony must've been remembering an argument they'd had, when Jack discovered that Tony was seeing Nina. It was nearly a year ago.

"I don't care about Nina, Tony." Jack's voice was hard and had an impatient edge. "I just care about getting out of here. Both of us."

Tony nodded. Jack could feel him shiver beneath him. He was going into shock.

Nina had not contacted him again, and he couldn't contact her. A few hours had elapsed and he was getting worried.

Then, he heard a sound. A snapping twig, barely discernable but audible to his trained ear. His heart rate jumped. Jack crept to the window, unwilling to leave Tony unprotected but needing to see what he could, anyway. He stared into the predawn gloom, waiting. Then, his comm crackled to life.

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	5. Epilogue

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CTU Los Angeles

One Week Later

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The extraction had not been textbook, but things had gone according to plan well enough. As Nina had anticipated, the injury Tony had sustained (the "who" had been a surprise, at least) was more serious than the field agents could handle. There had been a chopper standing by, though (again, thanks to Nina's uncanny insight), and they got him into surgery pretty quickly.

Although sloppily executed in her eyes, Nina had received a commendation for her work in finding the two agents. She neglected to mention the technology that allowed her to do so didn't even belong to CTU, but this was a negligible detail. For the past few days she'd basked in the light of a job well done, enjoying her celebrated good deed as recompense (in her mind) for future heinous actions. And, she knew, those would come.

In the week Tony had been in the hospital, she'd also had some time to think. Surprisingly she found that she missed him (and not just his body). His probing questions, his sly smiles, the easy almost calming effect he had on others, these were all things she'd grown accustomed to in the months they'd dated. She could've handled their parting a little more tactfully, she knew. Tony was the sensitive one…it'd been easier with Jack. Jack went back to Teri, but Tony had no one.

She would make it right. Tony would need a little taking care of in the weeks to come, and she intended to be the one to provide it.

Huh. Another good deed. _Caretaker_. Nina smiled, amused with herself. This "Dudley Do Right" kick she was on made her feel oddly warm.

Around noon, she heard a small flurry of activity. Excited voices and friendly exchanges rang throughout the bullpen. It was Tony's first day back.

She was glad she'd worn her red cashmere sweater today, one of Tony's favorites. She straightened at her desk, wondering briefly if she should meet him in the front hall, as everyone else had, or wait until he made it to his desk. But before she could decide, Tony and his small entourage entered the open space. Jack was there, of course, trailing behind him. Tony was on a cane, but his eyes were bright and his smile dazzling.

And there, on his arm, smiling like a cherub and looking adoringly up at him, was Michelle Dessler.

Nina's breathing quickened and she turned around quickly before anyone could notice her change in color. She knew her from Division. She was sent here infrequently, mostly as an errand girl or when there was an issue with internet protocol. Nina no doubt was aware Dessler had her eyes on a position here at the Los Angeles branch, but she wondered how she could've missed that she had eyes for Tony as well.

But Nina had missed it because she had not cared. Then.

Nina's previous mood evaporated and she suddenly felt silly in the bright, body-hugging sweater. Her brief stint as hero was finished, she knew. No number of feeble good deeds would warm her now. Nina was responsible for her own happiness, and from now on, it was her only concern.

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End file.
